There is no "official" weight defined as Clydesdale. It's whatever each event organizer chooses it to be. Usually it is 200 lbs for men. It's more variable for women but around 145 or 150. Height does not enter the equation, it is striclty a weight class, so short heavy guys like me are at a distinct disadvantage. There are seldom many age groups either since Clydes comprise a rather small proportion of the running community. One 15K that I do every year has open and masters divisions only. Now that I'm over 60 competing against 40 year olds is another huge disadvantage.

There are loads of age grade calculators on the web that are good for assessing how well you do against your age/sex demographic but this one includes a factor for weight as if to say, hey if you weren't so fat, here's what you could do. If I plug in my last 5k, 28:23 at age 61 and 204 lbs, it shows me I could possibly do 20:20 --- in my dreams. Well, actually I did run 20:20 once upon a time but I wasn't this old or this heavy.

actually that page gives you your projected time if you 25 years old and some random "perfect" weight

I`m 158 lbs on a good day - but my body fat in in the teens - I`m underfat - While I don`t get on the podium I`m usually in the top 10% of my age group and we have 2 - 300 runners in each age group here - If I got lighter it would be at the expense of muscle mass - I`m not sure that would translate to better performance.

Yes losing fat has a dramitic effect - I can vouch for that dropping 20lbs at the start of this year dropped over 1 min per mile off my half marathon pace - i`m now doing long training runs at what used to be my 4 mile race pace - but weight alone does not tell the full story of an athletes condition

So true. I'm also a shot putter so my "excess" weight is not entirely flab either. My recent times have improved mostly because I've been doing a lot of track workouts. I have not shed an ounce of weight and yet my 5K time went from 31:03 June 6th to 28:23 July 12. Doing 150-200 pushups daily through the winter and spring may have changed the distribution of the weight somewhat too. I'm not sure that helps running times though.

Very few events have that Clydesdale category where I am in upstate NY. Only the one I mentioned that I know of. I do a lot of small local fun runs, 100-200 runners total, so I often place in the top three in my age group merely by default and having a heavyweight division with so few would be ridiculous.

I see that you posted three day ago. I want to give you props for getting off the couch. You guys inspire me. It was the bringers-up-of-the-rear that shamed me into running. In fact, on Sep 26 I will race in the same 10k where I witnessed this courage and determination.

Most races that I have been aware of don't even have a Clydesdale category, and it does not matter to me or you anyway, since only the top finisher gets awarded.

You are correct in your mantra. Don't rush anything. You can't rush it anyway. You weight does make it harder on your joints, so allow enough time between runs for your body to recover. Espcially if you are past middle age.

When I started out, I did not know about C25K, but when I did find out, it seemed a little ambitious for me. I needed more time between runs for recovery until my bones and joints became accustomed to the beating that running imposes. I would run every 3 - 4 days at the beginning. That amounted to twice a week usually, and sometimes a week did pass between runs if something important was hurting.

I don't want to say not to do C25K, but do not push yourself beyond what your body can handle in the early months. Remember, one of the "rules" of C25K is that you can repeat a week until you are ready to advance. Listen to your body. As a wise fellow told me, train smart.

But, at least you are doing something! How far along will you be in a year?!

Hey Forrest , thanks for the encouraging words. I am indeed taking it slow, doing it with my wife who is a bit further behind than me too, so together we are aiming in a year to be able to take a nice 2-3 mile trail run together with our kids. That is the goal for now.

Only my second workout yesterday, little over 1.25 miles in 60/90 run walk intervals. My calves were really tight and I was nervous until I remembered I had just spent two days on a stepladder plastering.

But we're started, like you said. and that is something

C25K GRADUATE! Complete 10/30/10

And then I let it all go again. More "restarts" than I can count but I haven't given up hope or trying yet. So who knows what's possible.

Hey wideguy, great to see you starting out!! I never ran in my adult life (or as a child either I guess) but last year I decided to start working out and getting serious about my weight. I was 6'5" and right around 300lbs when I started. After a couple months of working out (elliptical training and weights) I lost about 20 lbs and decided to try jogging on a treadmill...couldn't hardly make it 1/4 mile at 4.5mph!@! Now...a year later, I'm down to 248lbs and running 5miles 3x a week training for my first 10k next month. If I can do it, you can too!!! Take it really SLOW and easy until your joints adjust and your muscles strengthen up...the only time I had alot of hip pain was when I got cocky and tried to push too far too fast...so keep it slow and easy and you will do great!!!

Thanks Penguin! Still doing the "Couch to 5K" plan . repeating week one with my wife. So so far only 60 seconds run, 90 walk. . But great to hear that you've come so far in a year. My long term goal right now is a 5K next summer. Maybe the 10k, but not pushing that.

But I'm started at least

Thanks again , and congrats!

C25K GRADUATE! Complete 10/30/10

And then I let it all go again. More "restarts" than I can count but I haven't given up hope or trying yet. So who knows what's possible.

It's too bad they don't factor in height. For once in my life BMI would work for me. At 5'6 and 185 BMI isn't kind. I was 195 when I started running again. I figure I can get down to 165 for my next Marathon next fall.

I have psoriatic arthritis too. I just started to run again in the past 5 months, after having knee problems 12 years ago. I read "Born to Run" last summer and thought I'd give running a try again, albeit this time using a barefoot running style. I've found that if I lower my hips, raise my knees higher, lengthen my stride and hit on the ball of the foot, instead of the heel, I significantly lower the impact on my joints. This looks like runnng in hot coals, quick light steps. My arch, calves and quads absorb the impact instead of my joints. Plus I run faster too! I am 39, weigh 230 and am now up to an 8 minute mile for 5k and a 9 minute mile for 10k with very little soreness or need for recovery.

Have you tried the biologics? Enbrel has been my personal lifesaver for the damned arthritis.

Although it sucks that we both suffer from it, it's always nice to meet people who understand. I totally know what you mean by having a 300 lb weight lifted off you. When it would flare, I felt like I was carrying the world on my shoulders, I just shuffled around miserably like one of the undead. Exercise was the absolute last thing on my mind. To be honest, I was depressed and unmotivated for a while and then got fat. I also resisted the biologics, since the long term effects aren't yet known, but after two years of hell, I finally caved in September 2008. I am so thankful I did. I wouldn't be running otherwise... Moving from the NY metro area to San Diego didn't hurt either, since I can exercise outdoors year round and I don't get that biting dry cold that always made my joints hurt terribly.

Looks like you're also a cyclist. That's good cross-training to moderate the impact on your joints. I would also recommend doing martial arts. It will help you build balanced strength and flexibility and give you a fun but intense indoor workout, plus you learn how to defend yourself! You'd just have to be careful with hitting pads with your hands if you have any joint swelling there.

My current workout is 2 days running, one 5k with ugly steep hills and one moderately flat 10k, 1 day outdoor inline speedskating 22 miles, 1 or 2 days of choy li fut kung fu training for 1-1.5 hours and lastly 1 day of weightlifting. I find that rotating through all of these gives my muscles and more importantly my joints sufficient time to recover before I repeat a particular workout.

And that's so funny that you read Born to Run and started running again...I wonder if there are legions of big heavy guys out there starting to run again due to that book. I bet there are.

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